Hot and Cold
by The Demon's Reflection
Summary: Six months after Trinity's invasion, Sofia is now the leader of the Remnants, and unsure if she can live up to her father's legacy. An encounter with the boisterous Nadia, grants her some peace of mind. One Shot. Ties in with Closing Early-verse. Femmeslash. Smut. Re-upload. Edited.


So, Enduring the Storm is taking a lot longer to get down than I'd intended, for which I apologise. My job has been pretty hectic the last couple of weeks, and it's finally getting a bit less so.

Anyhow, This, is not a chapter of Enduring the Storm, this is a piece that will tie in more to the third story in the trilogy, As Lara will return to the Remnant valley, as a myth she is chasing will lead her to seek help from the remnant leader. Anyway, this is kinda NSFW so, you know the drill. This is also my first attempt at writing girl/girl so...I hope it turns out okay.

* * *

Clouds were think near the old Soviet Installation. A storm was brewing and looked to be imminent in the snowy remnant valley. The only sounds were the wind, and footsteps of the Remnant leader as she jumped from tree to tree, the branches, creaking beneath her weight. Staying off the ground was a great advantage during a hunt, it left no scent for predators to track her, and gave the best visibility of the area.

It had been six months since Trinity's invasion, in the aftermath many of the Remnants had left the valley, seeing that their duty was complete with the Divine Source gone. Many who had remained were elderly, and unable to care for themselves. Leading the more able bodied members of the community to do more in order to ensure the everyone was well fed.

Sofia didn't mind. She'd earned a great deal of respect as a hunter, and it was what she was best at, and it would ensure that her people wouldn't starve, she was more than willing to do more. She was in her element, whilst stalking prey, and it gave her time to reflect on her position within the community.

Her eyes scanned the foliage, there were some birds pecking at the ground in search of whatever food they could find. A waste of an arrow, she wouldn't settle for something so small. She wanted a larger kill, something that could feed the villagers for longer.

Then she spotted it. A large deer, standing majestically among the trees, his prominent antlers marking him as a proud stag.

Sofia smirked to herself, grabbing her bow, and a single arrow, which she efficiently notched and drew back, breathing deeply, she waited for him to stop moving to take her shot for a clean kill.

As Sofia prepared to let the arrow fly, several shots rang out through the valley, the panicked deer fled in terror. Sofia notched another arrow, and looked towards the direction the shots had came from. The valley had been mostly devoid of gunfire since Trinity had been defeated, several members had defected, but many of them were had given their guns to the remnants as a show of good intent so they could earn the respect of the community, and as were mostly working the farms, and learning how to craft.

With no shooter in sight, Sofia dropped from the tree to get to the cover of a bush. Her eyes darted around. Then she spotted it, the distinct blue tunic and leather hat of the Remnant oddball. Nadia, standing near the edge of a cliff pistol in hand.

Sofia stalked her way over, keeping her eyes open for potential threats.

"Nadia!" Sofia yelled at the younger woman. "How many are there."

A startled Nadia, turned to face her leader. Relief washed over her face, which was immediately. followed by a look of confusion.

"Oh...Hi Sofia..." Nadia casually greeted the Remnant leader. "How many...what?"

"I...enemies..." Sofia arched an eyebrow at her.

"Um...there's only me out here...Besides you I mean...as far as I know..." Nadia grimaced.

"Then who were you shooting at..." Sofia asked.

"I...wasn't shooting at anyone...I was hunting." Nadia said.

"You...you were hunting." Sofia asked. Though relieved that there was no threat, but the Remnants had strict policies on hunting, and being as quiet as possible, so as not to disturb the animals and ensure anyone hunting in the area would be able to be as efficient as possible.

"I saw a chicken and, I knew it shouldn't have been this far from the village, so I guessed it was wild and...well I was kinda hungry so I was gonna..."

"You wasted three shots...to kill a chicken..." Sofia clarified.

"Well...I didn't actually kill it. It got away." Nadia admitted shamefully.

"Where is your bow?" Sofia scorned the woman. She had a quiver of arrows on her back, so she must have intended to use it at some point."

"I...I fell out of a tree and my bow snapped." Nadia said stating at the ground, pulling on of the snapped ends of her bow out of the quiver to show to her leader.

Sofia let out an agitated groan. Her hunt ruined, and her mood going the same direction, Sofia was more than a little annoyed at Nadia.

"Nadia...you know better than this." Sofia stated. "You were trained to hunt like a remnant. You're smarter than this."

"I...I'm sorry." Nadia stammered. "But..."

"Sorry isn't good enough." Sofia snapped. "I had a deer in my sight, and the kill was guaranteed. Do you know how many of our people that would have fed, and you were worried about a single chicken?"

Nadia was all but whimpering. Sofia had a famous temper among the Remnants, and lacked the years of experience of her father to keep it quelled.

"Please...forgive me..."

Sofia opened her mouth again to berate the woman, when the noise caught her attention, several deer charging towards them. How had she let her guard down so severely?

"Move!" Sofia yelled, as the deer were on top of them, Sofia dived and rolled stopping on one knee she expertly aimed her bow, and fired two rapid shots, both making their mark and one of the deer fell, onto it's side dead.

She sighed contently as she watched the deer charge away before disappearing into the trees. At least she'd gotten her kill. This would be enough to feed several villagers for a while.

"Not a complete loss then." Sofia put her bow on her back as she inspected her kill. "Nadia help me carry this."

There was no answer. Sofia looked up, Nadia was nowhere in sight. Sofia suddenly realized, Nadia was closer to the edge when the deer charged. She quickly looked over the edge, and spotted Nadia, face down in the icy water, floating down stream.

"NADIA!" Sofia yelled, taking off down the line of the cliff, she took off her bow and quviver and threw them aside before instinctively diving into the river after Nadia.

The cold water burned Sofia's skin, but she pushed through, forcing herself through the torrent of water, she finally reached the unconscious Nadia.

Wrapping a single arm around her torso. It took almost all of her strength. To swim towards the small amount of shore there was. With solid ground beneath them, Sofia dragged Nadia onto the snowy ground, near the mouth of a cave.

Sofia quickly inspected Nadia. She was blue lipped, and not breathing.

"Oh, no." Sofia panicked. "Nadia! Nadia wake up!" Sofia demanded, she began forcefully pushing down on Nadia's chest, becoming vividly aware of her shivering hands.

Nadia began coughing and spluttering, forcing water out of her lungs, briefly making eye contact with Sofia before immediately passing out again. Sofia checked. She was at least breathing.

Sofia sighed in relief, but she was far from out of the woods. Nadia would freeze if she didn't do something. She grabbed the young woman and threw her over her shoulder before heading into the cave.

The remnants had long had a custom of keeping as many caves as possible stocked with emergency supplies in case a heavy storm required them to take shelter. A small fire was prepared and ready in case someone needed it.

Sofia carefully put Nadia on the floor and set to work getting the fire going. As soon as it was lit, the cave was illuminated. Sofia briefly scanned the area to see what was there. There were some fur blankets, a small box of food, some drinking vessels and a teapot, even a spare bow, and thankfully plenty of firewood.

Sofia dragged Nadiia over as close to the fire as she could. She was still soaking wet, the cold combined with wet would make the fire futile and Nadia would probably die. She couldn't allow that to happen, she'd never be able to face Ivan or Serafima again, knowing that she'd failed to keep their granddaughter safe.

Soafia set to work stripping the unconscious girl before her. She noticed that Nadia had a massive brusise covering her ribs, just below her breasts. She must have been hit by the deer. Pulling off article after article, leaving Nadia completely bare.

Using one of the fur blankets to dry her skin as best as possible before draping another dry one on top of her to keep her warm, before throwing more wood on the fire.

Sofia watched closely for several minutes as the blue tinge to Nadia's skin receeded and she returned to her natural colour. She studied the younger woman for a moment. Nadia's raven hair being fully visible was an oddity, she couldn't think of a single instance of Nadia not wearing her hat, and she'd known her practically since she was born,

It was only then that Sofia suddenly became aware of how cold she was herself. She glanced at the red numb tips of her fingers, and could hear her own teeth chattering. Nadia's safety was not guaranteed yet, nor would it be if she succumbed to the cold herself, she needed to stay awake to watch over the younger woman, and that meant staying warm, which meant she needed to be dry...

* * *

Nadia stirred began to stir, taken aback by how warm it was, as the last thing she remembered was feeling dreadfully cold. Hearing the wind outside howling, she groggily began opening her eyes, to look around, the first thing she saw was the the entrance to the cave, sure enough, even in the darkness, she could see the snow falling. She rolled over, towards the source of the heat.

The glow and heat of a fire radiating on her face was heavenly. She spotted Sofia on the other side of the fire tending to a teapot, a fur blanket draped over her shoulders, but leaving her front exposed to the fire...completely exposed.

"Naida, you're awake." Sofia said with a soft smile. "Thank goodness."

"Sofia...you're naked." Nadia stated as she began to to sit up, feeling pain in her ribs.

"So are you." The unperturbed Sofia pointed out as she poured the contents of the pot into two clay drinking vessels.

"What?" Nadia looked down at her bare front, the fur blanket pooled around her waist when she sat up. "Huh...so I am." She noticed the large bruise on her ribs, that explained the pain, she gingerly brough a hand up to it, and winced upon prodding the purple area.

"I'm glad you're awake." Sofia said handing one of the cups to Nadia. "Here, drink this."

"Hold on." Nadia reoriented herself to that she was facing the fire, wrapping the the blanket around her shoulders before taking the cup. "Thanks." Nadia said before taking a small sip of the liquid which began warming her to the core. "So...what happened...I remember seeing a deer...and then being cold..."

"I think the deer must have knocked you off the cliff." Sofia stated, "I was too bust not being trampled to see what happened. I had to dive in after you, and then I brought you here. Sorry I had to strip you, but you would have froze otherwise."

"You...you dove in after me?" Nadia asked, not sure if she was able to believe that her leader wasted her time saving her. Not that she believed Sofia wasn't brave enough, she just couldn't understand why she'd bother.

"Of course. The safety of everyone in the village is my priority." Sofia told her.

"Even the ones who mess up your hunt?" Nadia said sheepishly.

"Don't worry about that." Sofia insisted. "I'm sorry I yelled at you. It was uncalled for, and it's probably what caused the deer to charge at us.."

"No, it was completely called for. I should have thought before shooting. Half the animals in the area are probably gone now."

"I said don't worry about it." Sofia said, taking a sip of her own drink. "There will be other oppourtunites to hunt. I'm just glad you're safe."

"Thanks..." Nadia said, gazing across the fire at the remnant leader. She suddenly became aware of the lack of covering to her head. "Have you seen my hat?"

"It's right there." Sofia said indicating the small makeshift clothes line she'd made to hang their cloths on so they would dry out quicker. "I checked just before you woke, it'll be a while before they're dry. Nadia's hat was turned inside out, so the inner lining would be exposed to the heat and not ruin the leather.

"I hate not having my hat." Nadia pouted. Shifting the blanket so that it covered her head like a hood.

"I don't understand why. You're hair is beautiful, as black as the night, but it shimmers like the river." Sofia had no idea why she said that. Probably just to be nice to the girl. Unless...

Nadia felt the heat rise in her cheeks. She was pretty sure that was a sign that she wasn't in danger of freezing.

"Well you're hair is nice too..." Nadia said, feeling as though she needed to return the compliment, though it's not as though it was a false statement. Sofia's red hair made her stand out against everyone else in the village, and the intricate braids and bun were also a style unique to her.

"Thank you." Sofia smiled, gazing into the fire, taking another sip of her drink. "Nadia...do you mind if I ask you something?"

"Um...yeah...sure..." Nadia said, taking a drink.

"Why did you stay in the valley." Sofia asked, being very direct. "When the others left, you could have went with them. Or with Lara when she and her Jonah left."

"Because of my grandparents." Blurted out, as though there were nothing else in the world that mattered. "They're all I have...and we just got grandma back..."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply you should leave them." Sofia frowned. "But they are very old. And someday they will be gone. And then there will be nothing left for you here."

"I know." Nadia snapped "But they're my family..."

"I know Nadia." Sofia "I'm sorry. But I know what it's like to not have any family left."

"Oh...God...I forgot...Sofia I'm..." Nadia began.

"No, it's okay." Sofia assured her. "I never knew my grandparents...I was born a thousand years too late to ever meet them. Daughter of the Immortal Prophet. After my mother died...my father was all I had left. And now he's gone too, and now I have taken his place...though I doubt I am able to ever live up to him."

"You're doing great." Nadia stated. "You keep everything as efficient as possible and everyone respects you...Even if you are occasionally...terrifying. "

"I suppose that's fair." Sofia said offering a small laugh.

"Are...are you laughing..." Nadia's eyes widened.

"Why is that so strange?" Sofia asked earnestly.

"I...don't think I've ever heard you laugh before." Nadia said thinking for a moment. "Ever."

"Maybe I should try and laugh more often then." Sofa said with another small chuckle.

The two women sat quietly for some time, they sipped at their drinks, warming themselves at the fire, and simply...content.

"Are you hungry?" Sofia asked. "There's some frozen boar meat. It will take a while for the ice to melt before it can be cooked, but it should be well preserved."

Yeah...I'm starving." Nadia stated.

Sofia stood and walked over to where the box of provisions were. She opened the box containing the frozen meat, pacing it by the fire exposing the contents to the heat to allow them to defrost, before wrapping herself in the blanket once more.

"So...why did you stay?" Nadia asked. "I mean...if it's not too forward...If you have nothing left here."

"I have my responsibility." Sofia said. "As long people remain, I have a purpose here, I will remain, to carry on my father's stead."

"But what about other aspects of life...like...I don't know...starting a family..."

"That would be a bit hard." Sofia stated. "The youngest man in the village is married, and even if he weren't, he's over a decade my senior. Besides...I don't like men."

"But...Elias...you and him were very..." Nadia began "I mean, before he died..."

"Elias, was a great warrior...and he was my friend." Sofia informed her. "But there is no man I have ever liked more than a friend.. As I said, I don't _like_ men."

Nadia silently pondered for a moment before it finally dawned on her what Sofia meant and here eyes widened is in surprise when it finally dawned on her.

"Oh...oh...right...okay..." Nadia stated said. "I know what you mean, it's uh...not really common."

"What about you." Sofia asked. "Did you want to start a family?"

"Well...I don't know...I mean...I like men...but I...well...kind of...also like...women." Nadia admitted.

"Really?" Sofia arched an eyebrow at the younger woman's admission. "Have you ever..."

"Well...I wanted to...but...she didn't." Nadia blushed. "You?"

"A few times, yes." Sofia nodded. "It was...wonderful." Sofia sighed serenely as she thought back to her prior experiences.

"So...did you...y'know...?" Nadia asked. "With Lara?"

"No." Sofia said. "I don't believe she was...that way inclined."

"How can you tell?" Nadia asked.

"She talks in her sleep." Sofia stated.

"What did she say?" Nadia asked curiously.

"She said... _I love you, Alex_." Sofia quoted. "Did she ever mention him to you?"

"No...she never mentioned an Alex." Nadia said. "But..."

"But what?" Sofia asked.

"Jonah did." Nadia stated. "He was talking to my grandfather and he mentioned that...Lara had lost a lot of friends...The name Alex was mentioned more than once, Jonah seemed really sad about it."

"I used to think outsiders never knew loss like we did." Sofia said sadly." But Lara...there is much sorrow within her."

"Poor Lara. I can't imagine losing someone like that...I mean...I kind of did. But I don't think it's the same."

"What happened?" Sofia asked earnestly.

"I...had a suitor." Nadia told her. "He was one the only one who never got annoyed with me for being...me. But he left with the others."

"I'm sorry Nadia." Sofia offered her sympathy. "That must have been awful for you to see him leave."

"It's okay...he'd lost everything else in the invasion. And...we...made love before he left. It was my first time...it was really...amazing." Nadia replied. "He had no reason to stay."

"What about you?" Sofia asked. "Surely you are

"Don't be foolish Sofia." Nadia told her. "I'm not a reason to stay."

"You're just as good a reason as anyone or anything else." Sofia offered her a sincere smile.

"You think so." Nadia felt the heat rising in her cheeks again.

"Yes. You may be bit clumsy but...honestly I'm a bit jealous of that."

"J-jealous?" Nadia asked. "Why would you be jealous of me."

"Because I can't allow myself to be clumsy," Sofia replied. "I have to set an example as leader, and be as effective as possible, so that no one loses faith in my abilities."

"How could anyone doubt your abilities," Sofa asked, gobsmacked, "You're the best hunter in the valley."

"There's more to being a leader than just being a good hunter. Experience and wisdom, are key factors. My father had both, and I don't have nearly as much as him."

"He was older than you." Nadia pointed out. "A lot older."

"Exactly. My father was the oldest man in the village, and I'm much younger than most of the people left. In fact there's only one person I'm older than."

"Me." Nadia stated. The two years between the two women often felt like a much larger gap, mainly due to Nadia's more outward going personality, and Sofia's more commanding demeanour, though now with both of them laying themselves bare, figuratively and literally, the gap seemed to vanish.

"You." Sofia nodded. "And I occasionally feel as though the others resent my authority, when there are many who deserve to lead more than I do.

"Don't talk like that." Nadia yelped. "Everyone respects you, no-one resents that your in charge. You've earned the village's respect through your hard work, skill and intelligence. And you lead the charge against Trinity. If you don't deserve to be leader, then no-one does."

"Well...maybe..."

"No, no maybe." Nadia cut across her. "You're doing great, no one resents you. Even the people who left Trinity to join our side respect you."

Sofia stared at her for a moment before she began laughing. Nadia looked confused.

"Did...did I say something wrong." Nadia asked.

"No, it's just...I remember yelling at my father's just like that once. I yelled at him in full view of the village, and explained why he was wrong. Everyone was staring. My father just smiled. And he said... _I'm proud of you, Sofia. Never be afraid to share the what you know to be true."_

"That's lovely." Nadia said in awe.

"My father always did have a way with words." Sofia smiled. "I suppose he needed to in order to gather as many followers as he did."

They sat silently for a moment, before Nadia piped up again.

"Do you think my hat is dry yet?"

"I doubt it." Sofia laughed. Both women reached towards the clothes line simultaneously to check the hat, their hands making contact. Both women looked from their hands to their faces. "It's still a bit damp." Sofia acknowledged.

"I...guess...I should leave it a while longer." Nadia said. "That way you can see my hair a while longer."

"I'd like that." Sofia smiled, before glancing out towards the storm, "Our clothes are going to be a while longer, and the storm isn't going to let up. So we're not going anywhere for a while."

"Well...maybe we should bundle up together, so we can share body heat." Nadia suggested.

Sofia didn't answer, instead, she got up, and walked around the fire, crouching beside Nadia, opening her blanket out wide, and wrapping it around both of them. Nadia in turn offered some of her blanket to Sofia beneath the outter layer.

Feeling the bare skin of another human, both women, looked each other in the eye.

"Your skin is really soft." Nadia commented, unable to stop herself rubbing a hand over Sofia's thigh.

"So is yours." Sofia said as her hand gently came up to cup Nadia's cheek. Nadia closed her eyes and leaned into her leader, who met her half way, where their lips met in a soft kiss.

After several glorious seconds, the two women broke apart, their eyes opening to make contact, both women smiled, before wrapping their arms around each other and their lips making contact once more.

Nadia squeaked upon feeling Sofia's tongue trace along her lips, she broke away and stopped.

"I'm sorry." Sofia frowned, fearing that she may have pushed too far too fast. "I didn't mean to..."

"How much longer until the meat is ready to cook?" Nadia asked.

Sofia archer her eyebrow before glancing over at the box. They still looked pretty frozen.

"It looks like they may be a while yet." Sofia informed her.

"Good. That means we won't have to stop for a while." Nadia said playfully.

Sofia's mouth stretched into a wide grin before she moved in again, laying Nadia on the ground, they leisurely kissed for several minutes. Nadia's hand's cautiously moving towards Sofia's breasts. Sofia squeaked upon feeling the younger woman's hands, but began moaning into the kiss.

"Does that feel good?" Nadia mumbled into the kiss, hoping her ministrations were satisfying.

"That feels lovely." Nadia stated between kissing her, she brought her own hands up to Nadia's breasts, caressing them tenderly, before running her hands down Nadia's curves and taking a handful of her backside, even giving a small slap, causing Nadia to yelp, before reciprocating the action.

After several minutes Sofdia broke away, and threw off the blanket, having become too hot to need it. She felt the cool air pleasantly wash over her skin, taking a moment to take in the younger woman. A light sheen on sweat now coated her body and caused her skin to shine in the light of the fire. Her muscles twitched, and her medium sized breasts raised and fell as she tried fruitlessly to regain a steady breathing pattern. She was so beautiful. Sofia was kicking herself for never noticing before.

"Stay right there." Sofia whispered to Nadia before she started to kiss along Nadia's jaw, towards her chest, sarting with her collar bone then towards the to her breasts paying special attention to the stiffening nipple in the center, prodding them with her tongue and tugging them with her teeth, Nadia writhed beneath her, moaning and squirming. Sofia gave one of Nadia's nipples one last flick with her tongue before resuming her journey south, making sure to plant several soft pecks on Nadia's bruised stomach, making sure not to press to hard, before dipping her tongue into the her belly button, causing a fit of giggles to erupt from her.

Reaching the junction between Nadia's legs, she grabbed her left leg and left a trail of kisses up her inner thigh, leading towards her folds, before taking the right leg in her grasp and placing a long lick along the length of the knee, stopping before she reached the centre.

"Are you ready." Sofia asked, glancing up at Nadia. Nadia's eyes were wide with desire, she wordlessly and frantically nodded. "Good." Without another word, Sofia moved her head right next to Nadia's nether region, dragging her tongue between the silken ridges.

"Oh...GOD!" Nadia practically screamed. "Sofia..."

"My, my. Aren't we sensitive." Sofia smirked,planting a kiss on Sofia's pubis, before extending her tongue once more.

Nadia squirmed and writhed, her thighs gently locking around her leaders head, as though to stop Sofia from going anywhere. Though, it was rather pointless, as a Sofia had no intention of leaving the girl high and dry. As she continued to orally stimulate the younger woman, she brought, one of her hands up to Nadia, and plunging two fingers into her heated mound.

Nadia, began moaning at fever pitch as Sofia continued to pump in and out of her relentlessly, pushing her further to the edge. Nadia's hands tangled into Sofia's hair, as she massaged her scalp.

Nadia's orgasm hit in full force, her body ceased and spasmed, before going completely limp. Sofia loosed herself from Nadia's weakened grip crawling up the woman, once again planting a few chaste kisses up her body, ending with her lips.

"That...was...I don't know...I don't have the word to describe it..." Nadia stated.

"Perhaps you should have asked Lara for some words from the outside, maybe they would have helped." Sofia smiled.

"Maybe...So I guess I should." Nadia said trying to sit up.

"In a while." Sofia stated. "Regain your strength for now. "The meat should be ready to cook now."

"But..." Nadia argued.

"Be calm." Sofia assured her. "The storm still isn't letting up. It seems as though you have...all night to reciprocate my actions. And for me to show you some other methods of bringing a woman pleasure."

Nadia's heart practically did a backflip. She pulled Sofia into a deep kiss, and held her for several seconds.

"We'd better cook now then." Nadia stated after breaking the kiss. "Because I'm gonna need all my strength."

* * *

It was after midday when Sofia and Nadia returned to the village. After staying up to the early hours of the morning, they had woken later than the remnants usually did. Their clothes were dry, and they both unwillingly got dressed, knowing that the others would start to worry if they didn't return. They located the deer that Sofia had taken and took what meat they could carry before heading home.

Many of the villagers offered them greetings and smiles. Both women returned them. Not letting on anything. They had mutually agreed that they wanted to keep their night of passion a secret. There was no need for the others to know what they had done, or that they intended on doing it again. It would just be less complicated. And also, quite thrilling. Sofia wasn't supposed to keep secrets from her people, so having one would be quite spine tingling for her.

"NADIA!" a voice cried out.

Nadia and Sofia turned to see Nadia's grandmother Serafima rushing towards her granddaughter.

"Hi, Grandma." Nadia smiled.

"Why didn't you come home last night." She snapped. "We were worried."

"I'm sorry grandma." Nadia frowned, "I got caught in the storm, and had to take shelter in the caves."

"It's true, Serafima." Sofia half lied. "The storm caught us off guard and we had to take refuge in one of the caves near the cliffs."

"I didn't mean to worry you, Grandma...but...I can take care of myself. I know all the best places to take shelter, and Sofia was there to make sure I didn't do anything too...me."

Serafima scrutinized her granddaughter for a moment, before letting out a sigh.

"As long as you are safe, that is what is important." Serafima assure her. "I trust in your abilities to You're grandfather, he worries, go see him."

"Of course." Nadia agreed. "I'll just help Sofia with this deer meat."

"Very well, just do not keep him waiting." Serafima said, she thanked the remnant leader, before returning to what she had been doing before.

Nadia followed Sofia to the smokehouse. Handing the sacks of deer meat to the man who tended to the smoke house. Their load delivered, they started back to the village.

So, what are you doing for the rest of the day?" Nadia asked Sofia, as they made their way back into the village.

"I'm going to head back to the cave." Sofia stated. "I need to replenish the supplies we used last night. In case someone else needs them next time there's a storm."

"Okay...what about tonight?" Nadia asked hopefully.

Sofia looked around, to ensure they were alone. Seeing no one, she leaned in close.

"I might be home late, but...I'd like to see you when I get back." Sofia admitted.

"Okay...I'll be at your cabin." Nadia smiled enthusiastically. "I'll cook dinner."

"I'll see you then." Sofia stated before leaning in and planting a gentle kiss on her lips. "I'll see if I can find that chicken for you."

Nadia offered a content grin before wordlessly, placing a final kiss on Sofia's lips before scurrying off to see her grandfather.

Sofia laughed to herself. She felt light, happy, at peace. This time yesterday, she'd been secretly worried about nearly everything. Now she had clarity, she had more than just her duty. She had Nadia.

* * *

So there that is, did you like it? Did you not? Well either way, I had fun writing it, Enduring the Storm will be resumed shortly, but I have some other stuff to do first.


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